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Edward
Edward *'Number': 2 *'Designer': Pettigrew *'Builder': Sharp, Stewart and Co. *'Configuration': 4-4-0 *'Arrived on Sodor': circa 1920 Edward is a mixed-traffic engine. Bio Edward was built by Sharp Stewart and Company in 1896 and worked on the Furness Railway before coming to Sodor in 1920 to finish the building of the North Western Railway. After his work was completed, Edward was kept in a shed, to the delight of the other engines, who claimed that he was too weak to work. Edward was eventually let out again, and proved that what he lacked in strength he made up for in work ethic. Edward currently runs the Wellsworth-Brendam branch line with BoCo, and occasionally Donald and Douglas. He is sometimes used as a pilot engine for special trains. Persona Edward is kind-hearted and always keen to help a friend in need. The small engines trust him to lend a listening ear and sympathetic advice. He is a hard worker too, and always does his best to finish a job. Sadly, the big engines often see Edward as old-fashioned and slow. While it is true he is the oldest engine on the North Western Railway - it must be noted he helped build it - he has proved time and time again that he is more than capable of working as hard as any engine, but he is a more clever and wiser engine, too. Since the sixth season, Edward's persona differs slightly. Despite his reputation of being kind and friendly, Edward has sometime seemed to act cheeky. Edward has also acted with a lack of confidence in himself in that he keeps secrets from the other engines and the Fat Controller when once he was leaking steam, and likewise when he was told to pull the post train whilst Percy was being repaired. Sometimes, Edward has seemed to share the same personality as James, such as when he decided to show off his special waterwheel and laughed at Thomas when he was wearing a funny funnel. Basis Unlike most characters, Edward is not directly based upon any particular class of locomotive. The Reverend W. Awdry had stated that Edward is based on a heavily modified Sharp, Stewart and Co. "Larger Seagull", supplied to the Furness Railway in 1896, but this was a piece of retcon created for The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways. Sodor "historian" Martin Clutterbuck notes that Edward bears a close resemblance to a LNER D3/4 "Glen" (NBR Reid Class K) 4-4-0 from the London and North Eastern Railway. At any rate, the Reverend W. Awdry used an engine of this class to represent Edward on his model railway. Crovan's Gate modifications to be seen are making rear splasher flush with cab, new cab windows as opposed to cutaway and new cab lookouts as opposed to the round originals. Inspiration The inspiration for Edward himself came from the Reverend W. Awdry's watching trains on the Great Western Railway as a child. He said in an interview with Brian Sibley for The Thomas the Tank Engine Man that, to him, the noise of the locomotives' exhaust almost sounded like dialogue - for example, the larger engine having trouble climbing the hills would appear to be saying, "I can't do it, I can't do it," and the smaller engine helping them would sound like it were saying, "I will do it! I will do it! I will do it!" Livery Edward is painted NWR blue with the NWR red and yellow lining and the number "2" painted on his tender sides in bright yellow with a red border. He carries two plaques on his cab that reads "NWR No. 2, Rebuilt 1920, Crovan's Gate Works". It can be assumed that, before arriving on Sodor, Edward was painted in the Furness Railway's red livery with a yellow "FR" on his tender sides and black wheels. Appearances Voice Actors * William Hope (US; Hero of the Rails onwards) * Keith Wickham (UK; Hero of the Rails onwards) * Yasuhiro Takato (Japan; first season onwards) * Nozomu Sasaki (Japan; ninth season onwards) Trivia * Edward was the very first character created for the Railway Series, in 1943. * Edward is the only engine whose crew has been named in the Railway Series. In the foreword of "Edward the Blue Engine" their names were given as Charlie Sand (driver) and Sidney Hever (fireman). Their surnames came from their duties (one of the driver's jobs is to sand the rails when they are slippery to let the engine's wheels grip, while the fireman "heaves" coal to the firebox); their Christian names came from an engine crew from the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway. * Two of Edward's models are currently on display; one at Drayton Manor and one in Canada at Nitrogen Studios. * A rare promotional picture shows Edward wearing James' face. * Edward was not seen in Thomas and the Magic Railroad as his model wasn't finished in time. * In the episodes Steady Eddie and Charlie and Eddie, Edward refers to himself as "Eddie". Charlie also refers to him by this name. * In the 1985 annual story, Edward Cracks a Nut, Edward is incorrectly depicted as a 2-6-0. Merchandise * ERTL (normal and Gold Rail; discontinued) * Wooden Railway * Take-Along (normal and metallic; discontinued) * My First Thomas (normal and talking) * TOMY\TrackMaster * Hornby * Bachmann * My Thomas Story Library * Bandai Tecs * Take-n-Play * De Agostini * Brio (discontinued) * Pez * Mega Bloks Gallery File:TheReverend'sEdwardmodel.jpg|Awdry's model of Edward File:EdwardandGordonRS8.PNG File:EdwardandGordon5.jpg File:EdwardandGordon4.jpg|Edward at the bottom of Gordon's Hill File:EdwardandGordon2.jpg|Edward wearing one of James' faces File:Edward,GordonandHenry1.jpg|Edward at Knapford File:EdwardandGordon1.jpg|Edward at Tidmouth Sheds File:Edward,GordonandHenry2.jpg|Edward pushes the express File:Bertie'sChase11.png|Edward waits at the crossing gates File:Bertie'sChase8.png|Edward at the station File:SavedFromScrap1.jpg|Edward in Saved from Scrap File:SavedfromScrap4.png|Edward on the turntable File:PaintPotsandQueens10.jpg|The Queen speaks to Edward File:Edward'sBrassBand15.jpg|Edward's first accident, in the seventh season File:EdwardtheGreat22.jpg|Edward at the summer house File:EdwardandtheMail15.jpg|Edward crashes in Season 11 File:CallingAllEngines46.jpg|Edward the scarecrow File:SteadyEddie7.jpg|Edward in Season 12 Image:SlippySodor26.PNG|Edward in Season 13 File:CharlieandEddie8.jpg|Edward in the fourteenth season File:EdwardSeason13promo.jpg|Promotional CGI image of Edward File:EdwardwithNameplate.png|nameboard File:RareEdwardNameplate.jpg File:Edward.jpg|a promo shot of Edward File:ThomasandEdwardpromo.jpg|Promo shot of Thomas and Edward File:Edward'sModelSpecification.PNG|Edward's model specifications File:EdwardandtheOldCoaches.PNG|A promo shot of Edward File:EdwardwithJames'face.jpg|A rare promotional picture of Edward wearing James' face File:EdwardDraytonManor.jpg|Edward's model at Drayton Manor File:Edward'sprototype.jpg Merchandise Gallery File:HonbyEdward.gif|Hornby Edward File:EdwardBachmann.jpg|Edward's Bachmann model File:ERTLEdward.jpg|ERTL Edward File:ERTLGoldRailEdward.jpg|ERTL Gold Rail Edward File:Take-AlongEdward.jpg|Take-Along Edward File:Take-n-PlayEdward.jpg|Take-n-Play Edward File:Take-AlongEdwardmetallic.jpg|Take-Along Metallic Edward File:LearningCurveWoodenRailwayEdward.jpg|Wooden Edward File:TrackmasterEdward.jpg|TrackMaster File:MyFirstEdward.jpg|My First Edward File:EdwardStoryLibrarybook.jpg|Edward's Story Library book See also * Category:Images of Edward Category:Tender engines Category:Steam locomotives Category:North Western Railway